Two More Finishes and Big Tree Removal

I’ve got a long and picture-heavy post for you today, so sit back and relax. It’s been one crazy week (in a good way), and I remembered to snap some photos along the way.

My first quilt finish of the week was this quilt made with some of the 2.5”-width strips that I was given by our Quilts for Kids chapter. I decided that I would make a few quilts that are larger than the baby sizes so we could address the needs of some older kids. This is one of those quilts, and it finished at 48x60”. 

My friend Ruby quilted it in what we call a square stipple. I’m sure it has a more official name, but who knows (or cares)? 

The backing was an old shirting print, so the whole thing should be suitable for either gender. 

Then there was this little Strippie quilt that was a collaborative project again. The fabric came from my stash, and I cut it out and drew out a pattern for Kim. Kim sewed it for me (my “stunt sewer”), then Ruby Quilted it and I bound it. And yes, we realized too late that the top half was sewed wrong. The red and navy section was supposed to be next to the center large stars. Oh well, it’s not going to be changed now!

This “All Stars” Strippie measures 40x47”.

My friend Kris from Weight Watchers asked me to quilt another table topper for her, which I happily agreed to. This was a pattern from one of the quilt stores on the Utah Shop Hop a couple years ago.

I typically put more effort into quilting personal and friends’ things than I do for donation quilts. My quilting is done on my Bernina 570 domestic machine. 

I’ve been watching and practicing along with Angela Walters’ new Feathers quilting series on YouTube, and I’m learning a lot. Angela is one of the most talented and recognized quilters in the industry. And while I only incorporated some “half feathers” in the outer borders of this table topper, the class gave me the impetus to search for other designs, study, practice and gain more confidence in trying new things. 

In the center area, you can see some dot-to-dot quilting in the squares and half-square triangles. 

In the four white corners I did my variation of “E’s and 3’s”. 

The outer border was the aforementioned half feathers (or half hearts). 

I’ll return it to Kris on Tuesday and I hope she likes it. We’re also going out to lunch, so that will be fun.

The final nine blocks of the “Library” quilt - so named because of the book print fabric for the sashing and borders - were appliquéd to their background blocks. I’ll begin the assembly on Monday. Ish. Everything is already cut and waiting to go, but top assembly is my least favorite part of the process…

Last Monday, one of my sweet friends here in the condos, Joan, moved away. She sold her condo and moved back to Massachusetts to be near her five daughters. Joan is the one who gave me her outdoor planter (shown empty last week and newly planted, later in this post). She loves blue, so I’m going to surprise her with a blue and white quilt. It will be nearly identical to the wedding quilt I recently made my grandson and his bride. The fabrics are different, but the color scheme is basically the same. 

Joan’s quilt will be smaller than the first one I made. These blocks finish at 16”, and will be set 3x4 for an approximate 48x64” size. The blues in this block are the closest I came to sewing aqua this week for July’s color of the month in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. 

And speaking of Joan, here is the planter she gifted me. I planted it last weekend (sorry for the lousy shady photo) and will have to tweak it later today because the soil has settled. But I love it!

So the reason I was out early in the morning taking pictures while the courtyard was still shaded is because I wanted to get some “before” photos. We learned on Monday night that the big tree in front of our condo was being removed on Thursday. While we’ve known for over a year that it needed to be done because its roots were destroying our neighbor’s driveway and courtyard, it was still heartbreaking. Obviously, someone planted the wrong tree 40 years ago, because honey locusts are shallow-rooted and not good for planting in parkways and such. 

Above: the tree and our condo at 9:15am.  Below: our front gate with bunting and shade from the big tree. The smaller tree in our courtyard, a Japanese maple, is already stressed from the late spring freeze and now scorching hot summer. I’ve been watering it copiously and giving it iron treatments, but it is a tree that thrives best with protection. I’m afraid we may not be able to save it when it doesn’t have the bigger tree to protect it. Time will tell. 

Here’s a “before” panoramic shot of our courtyard with the morning shade

The felling begins.

They really made quick work of it, and were very professional. Below: Still Life with Chainsaw.

Now in the courtyard there’s bright sun where there was once deep shade. Later that evening, I transplanted the three brunnera plants to the clubhouse, back to deep shade.

We’ll have the arborists out in September to trim the dead branches out of the maple and give it a good overall pruning. That will give it the best chance for survival going forward. 

At 11:15 am, there was no sign of the tree (or the arborists for that matter). 

The rest of my week can be summarized in a few sentences. Continued with my knee and overall fitness exercises; played cards (Hand and Foot) at the clubhouse on Thursday afternoon; State Holiday (Pioneer Day - statehood) on Friday - didn’t do anything except grocery shopping and sewing. Life is good. 

Have a great week friends!

Graduation!

Well, it’s not an exciting graduation, like a grandkid graduating from high school or anything, but I did make it through all my physical therapy sessions and “graduated” from that. I got a hug from both physical therapist Mark and his wife Laura, and I brought them some homemade raspberry jam as a thank you.  I’ll be continuing the home version of my exercises as well as adding some simple exercises to strengthen my core, promote balance and doing some light upper body weight training. I have everything I need except some small weights and a timer, which will arrive tomorrow. I’m excited!

It was another busy week, with a big summer HOA BBQ here at the condos on Wednesday evening. I was on the team to help pull that off, and between set-up, food prep and cleaning up (plus I did the signage and helped transport our most elderly attendees), it was hectic. But what a fun time, even though I may or may not have had three cookies! 

On Friday I made up for eating cookies when my friend Joan, who is moving back to Massachusetts, gifted me her outdoor raised planter. In her courtyard I shoveled out the soil and wheelbarrowed it to our place. Then I went back and we loaded the planter into my SUV. I set the planter up at home and re-shoveled the soil back in. All of that was done before 10am to avoid the heat (although I did work up a sweat and was a filthy mess). But it was fun, and it was great to feel strong and able-bodied again! Here’s the planter. I do plan to visit some garden centers or big box stores to see what’s on clearance. I just want some color (and more soil) in there for the next three months!

I’ve been terrible at sharing garden pictures this year. I planted only a few pots and this vertical garden before my mid-May knee replacement, and just had Bruce watering them while I was unable to work in the yard. 

I never got pictures of the lilies blooming, and the recent record-breaking heat absolutely fried my hydrangeas. I didn’t plant any new shrubs or perennials this year because we’ve been asked to conserve water (and, again, the knee surgery). Mostly these days I’ve been babying my Japanese maple, giving it extra water and iron treatments. Poor thing. The top of the leaf canopy froze and defoliated after a late freeze this spring, and now the scorching heat has it gasping for water! I’m afraid it will be toast when the huge honey locust tree outside our courtyard in the common area is removed this winter - it’s heaving sidewalks and the neighbor’s driveway. The bigger tree provides protection for our Japanese maple, which is typically an understory tree. 

But let’s talk about sewing which is why, I’m sure, you’re here.

July is the month of aqua, teal, and turquoise - and all their blue-green and green-blue variations -  in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge group. 

First up are the two gameboard blocks I sewed, which will finish in a quilt at 8”.

And we can’t forget the Rolling Stone blocks. Only two of those as well. I love these blocks! 

And finally some crumb blocks (6.5”). I had a few on hand and hoped to finish additional blocks to round out a set of 15, but the scraps didn’t stretch that far. So these 7 blocks will join the others and wait until aqua month in 2027 to recruit more friends for a set.

My friend Ruby quilted two more little quilts for me to bind for Quilts for Kids, so I do have two finishes to share once again. First up is this turtle-themed Strippie. After I pulled the fabric and cut the kit, Cousin Kim sewed it up (we joke and call her my “stunt sewist” as we try to churn out lots of these Strippie quilts from my stash). Then Ruby quilts them and I bind and label them. 

The Turtles quilt isn’t all that exciting, but I’m sure there’s a kid who will love the turtles.

The colors are truest on the above photo and the backing photo, below. This little number finished at 39.5 x 45.5”.

Ruby quilted leaves on it, but we think they rather look like they could be patterned turtle shells. 

The second finish was inspired by three cute elephant fat quarters that Ruby gave me from a yard sale find. I had to design something around that amount of fabric, and came up with this. The solid pinks and yellows are pastels, although the camera distorts their intensity. I’ve tried to color-correct it as best I can.

The Pink Ellies quilt measures 40x46”. I’ve got more FQs of this print in a blue and yellow colorway, but there are 4 FQ’s of those. I’ll tackle those later this summer.

Once those little quilts were done and dusted, I could begin working on the fan blocks that were given to me with the Quilts for Kids scraps to “do something with”. See the post here where I first showed them. I call them fan blocks because someone just sewed blades together, not sewing the tops to make a point as for Dresden blades. I had to add another blade to each block to cover at least 90 degrees of a square block.  

Anyway, I found a medium brown fabric on which to appliqué them. The background squares are cut 14x14” (the largest size I could get from a width-of-fabric cut) and I appliquéd the first 3 (of 12) this week. The fans were fit over the corners of the background square, then the outside blades in each block were trimmed to fit. I’m using a blanket stitch on my machine to appliqué down the fans and the inner circle.

I’ve been excited to play with these because the colors go perfectly with the 2-yard cut of book fabric I have. I was originally thinking I’d use the fabric for a backing, but instead I’ll use it for wide borders to bring the 3x4 block setting up to something over 50x60”. That size and these colors will be better suited for an older kid quilt. 

This will be my primary project to work on in the coming week.

Today I need to do some grocery shopping, and then I’ll visit some big box stores to see what kind of flowers (or herbs?) to plant in the new planter. Perhaps next year I can rig up some drip irrigation, but for now the planter will be hand watered. 

Is anyone else watching the new Little House on the Prairie series on Netflix? I absolutely loved those books as a girl. We are really enjoying it, and I find myself thinking and daydreaming about the Ingalls family and their adventures, just as I did 60 years ago! 

Have a great week!

Sewing and Stuff

Summer is in full swing here in the Salt Lake Valley and it’s hot, hot, hot. The next three days are supposed to be over 100 degrees F (37-42 C). I plan to stay indoors as much as possible for those 3 days, but I do have my last two physical therapy sessions on Monday and Wednesday. Even the dinner menu for the next week is easy and summery - salads, sandwiches, and a community BBQ on Wednesday. We have lots of frozen meals that can be zapped in the microwave if we want something warm. Luckily, the new air conditioner is working like a charm, so we’re all happy, including the kitties in their fur coats. 

I didn’t post anything last week because for the first time in months, if not years, I didn’t even go into my sewing room. I had a couple books in a row that were soooo good that I just didn’t have any ambition to do anything but read. Because I know I’ll get asked, the books were: Project Hail Mary (Andy Weir) and The Calamity Club (Kathryn Stockett). I also just finished The Woman in Cabin 10 (Ruth Ware), and it was good too. But I’ve got the sewing itch back again, so I’ve got some balance back again!

The first thing I did, beginning last Sunday, was to sew 30 aqua/turquoise/teal string blocks. They measure 6.5” unfinished. Regular readers know that I pin these into groups of 15 for our local chapter of Quilts for Kids. They add them to 15 other matching fabric squares, plus two border fabrics, and check them out as quilt kits to be sewn by volunteers. 

Then I sewed four quick Switchplate blocks that will finish at 3x5” in a quilt. I’ve been working on these since last year. Mostly I’m just finishing up the last few in every color as we go through the spectrum for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

I’m not looking forward to sewing these little things into a quilt top, but the end is drawing closer, so maybe I’ll make a start on it in the next couple months. 

I also whipped up these 4 Hollow Nines because I could. I added these a couple months ago, so there is no plan and no rush. 

Ruby quilted another couple little tops for me. The first one below is made from cat blocks that I was given to me in a huge batch of fabric last year by my friend Pat up in Ogden. They were actually made by her twin sister Kitty in California. Now, normally when I add labels to my Quilts for Kids donations, I put all the makers names on the back. This time, however, I think it would be really weird if I said that this cat quilt was made by Kitty L. and Cat K. So, I’ll probably label it from Pat and Cat. Sheesh, that’s not much better!! 

This quilt measures 37x43” and has a black and white wood-grain print on the back.

The second finish this week was another Strippie that I finished. I was so happy to use up this cute owl print that’s been in my stash for a decade or more. 

The color is truest on the photo below. 

And here’s a shot of the back.  This one measures 39x50”.

My least favorite thing I worked on this week was sewing together these blue blocks from June into a top. Well, almost a top. I still have to join the Framed 4-patch column in the center to the columns on either side. But it’s close enough for its flimsy pic!

I’m guessing it’s about 49x60” or so, but obviously I’ll get a more accurate measurement when the quilt is done. The backing will be some orphan blocks and chunks and strips of miscellaneous blue fabrics to make some room on the blue shelf. I’m going to play with that later today.

Have a great week! 

Busy Week!

Wow, time flies when you’re busy and having fun! It was a great week all around. We celebrated Father’s Day on Sunday (Bruce’s daughters called) and Monday (my son Ryan and DIL Kim came over). I fixed a chicken tortilla casserole (both guys love it), fruit salad and brownies. No pictures to share, but Kim and Ryan did help us with a couple small projects around the house that neither Bruce (with only one arm) nor I (with still-healing knee) could manage. 

I met with my surgeon this week and “graduated” at my final post-op checkup. They award “graduates” with a bag of candy. But the best part is that I can now swim!! I still have three weeks of physical therapy twice per week, (plus I add an additional session of my own). I can now bend my leg to a 130-degree angle and straighten it completely, (180 degrees). Beyond that, we’re putting together an exercise program that will help me strengthen my core, maintain flexibility and balance and keep me mobile. I’m looking forward to it!

In sewing, I finally buckled down and finished putting this scrappy top together. I’ve also prepared a backing and hung it in the closet for Ruby to quilt when its turn comes up. 

Ruby did bring back this Tabby Road Strippy we worked on, and I bound it and finished it. 

The pictures don’t do justice to the colors, but it is softer (less glaring) than it appears. Here’s a closeup.

Ruby quilted it with kitties playing with a ball of yard. You can see it on the backing better. 

We have our monthly Quilts for Kids workshop today (Saturday) and I have something like 7-8 little finished quilts to bring them. That feels good. 

I’ve worked on this blue scrappy quilt quite a bit this week. It’s going to end up at approximately 48x60”.

All I need to finish are the final five 10” Plus Blocks on the left, which I’ll do at Quilts for Kids (QFK) today. Everything else is pinned up, although I didn’t pin them below the design board; the rest of the blocks for each column are pinned at the bottom. I’ll begin sewing columns this weekend. 

I’ve also picked out a lot of blue chunks and width-of-fabric strips that I’m going to sew into a backing for this quilt, rather like a giant crumb block. :-). That pretty much will conclude my blue sewing for July’s Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I wonder whether Angela will assign for July? 

Also, two more sets of 15 string blocks got sewn this week. I have a total of  9 sets of blocks that I’m turning in for kits at QFK today; 4 sets of blue strings and 5 sets of multi-colored strings. That’s 135 string blocks sewn since my surgery. Not bad!

Alfalfa (orange) and Darla (brown) love to lay in the morning sun. They were a little apprehensive when we changed out the wood blinds for shutters, but they’ve gotten used to the slatted sun and moving panels. We’re not going to tell them that the flooring and fireplace makeover are next on the agenda! 

They just celebrated their 13th birthday last month. We’re very lucky that they’ve been very healthy kitties. Now, if we could only find a solution to hairballs! 

Have a great week everyone!

Steady as She Goes

Ok, I confess. I spent so much time this week doing Other Things that I didn’t get much sewing done. But I got of loose ends tied up that were beginning to weigh on me; appointments made, a couple details handled on my brother’s estate, phone calls and meetings and the installation of a new furnace and air conditioner. Everything is so new and clean and efficient! Oh, I also had my physical therapy sessions. Whoa, they really worked my legs (and knees) good this week. If by good you mean having sore thighs. But it’s a good sore and it’s to help me rebuild my leg muscles to stay ambulatory. I’m here for it! Four more weeks of PT to go… I can do hard things!

On Sunday, friend Ruby brought over another little Strippie quilt of mine that she’d quilted. It was just a lot of pieces and strips that I threw together, and I love it! I trimmed and machine-bound it.

Here’s a close-up of the quilting. 

The backing was made from a couple pieces in the stash. I believe that cute jungle print came to me either from Wanda or Nann (sorry, I can’t remember). But I felt it was so happy and perfect!

My other sewing was mostly strings. I never showed the strings I did last week, so here is a picture of those (15 multi-colored string blocks on top) along with the two sets of strings (15 blocks each set) that I did in blue this week. 

Pastels are the color of the month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, but there was so much blue in the load of scraps that Quilts for Kids gave me to work on last month that I had nowhere to store them - the blue shelf was overflowing onto the floor! 

I also tried out a couple “prototype” blocks courtesy of Cathy L at Sane, Crazy & Crumby. I did them in two sizes: 7” finished block (3.5” squares with a 1.5” divider) and a 10” block (4.5” squares with 2.5” divider). What I think I’ll do is a row quilt or column quilt and make enough of each block to fill a row/column. I’ve also got a few blue orphan blocks, so there will be a row/column of framed 4-patches, some string blocks, some rail fence blocks, maybe some snowballs and maybe some crumb blocks. I’ll make them into a larger-than-little-kid size to maximize the use of scraps. Maybe 50x60” or even larger. Then I’ll sew lots of chunks and fat quarters, etc, for a backing. Take that, blue scraps!

Sorry for the wonky picture!

I also finished sewing this little top together. I had 3 fat quarters of the elephant print to use, then just added solid pinks and yellows. Don’t cringe at the way I pinned this up. I can’t pin a quilt on the design board decently to save my life. But it’s square and will look fine when Ruby quilts it.

This one measures 40.5 x 46.5”.

We had deer walking through our condo property this week. We have a creek they traverse, as well as a meadow and a lot of green space. But they came up to the houses. 

There were three deer that day. We also get foxes and an occasional raccoon. 

The garage on the very right is our place. 

That’s all I have this week. We’ll have some Father’s Day doings over the weekend, but mostly it will just be quiet and peaceful. Life is good!